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The Energy Blog is where all topics relating to The Energy Revolution are presented. Increasingly, expensive oil, coal and global warming are causing an energy revolution by requiring fossil fuels to be supplemented by alternative energy sources and by requiring changes in lifestyle. Please contact me with your comments and questions. Further Information about me can be found HERE.

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April 27, 2008

Optisolar to Build Largest Solar Farm in North America

OptiSolar, Hayward, California, is developing a 550 megawatt photovoltaic (PV) solar farm, the largest in North America, covering over 6,000 acres, in San Luis Obispo County, California.

OptiSolar intends to submit an application to San Luis Obispo County for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in May. Construction is targeted to begin in 2010, after completing the local approval process. Installation of panels will occur over a period of up to three years.

OptiSolar is a vertically intigrated company manufacturing its own solar cells and panels and claims its amorphous silicon thin-film solar PV panels combine proprietary manufacturing processes and innovative design to yield affordable, durable panels that significantly reduce the cost of clean solar power. Their thin-film design requires only about 1% of the silicon used in crystalline systems, thus not being affected by the availability of crystalline silicon. The companies technology enables low-profile solar panels to be placed on simple concrete and steel ballasts with minimal grading.

Although photovoltaic solar panels are currently less efficient than solar thermal systems, OptiSolar claims that its solar cells are significantly more cost effective as they require less expensive silicon during manufacture, consume little water, and require far less maintenance than turbine based systems. In addition they avoid the need for large structures that turbine-based systems require, and do not result in the noise associated with such systems.

OptiSolar Farms Canada has 21 solar project in Canada under various phases of development including the 60-megawatt "Sarnia Solar" park, which will be broken into six construction phases with the first 10-megawatt phase expected to be completed by year's end and the balance competed in 2009.

Comments

"OptiSolar is a vertically intigrated company manufacturing its own solar cells and panels and claims its amorphous silicon thin-film solar PV panels combine proprietary manufacturing processes and innovative design to yield affordable, durable panels that significantly reduce the cost of clean solar power. Their thin-film design requires only about 1% of the silicon used in crystalline systems, thus not being affected by the availability of crystalline silicon." - 100% agree and adore this :)

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I think that it is improtant to try and get more people using solar energy but buying solar panels can be very expensive, so if people are able to build panels themselves then i think there will be a much greater chance of saving the planet. Nice post.

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Opti solar tried to build a plant in sarnia Ontario on 1,000 acres of land. They failed dismally and First solar had to take over and demolish their equipment (opti,s) and install their own system which was a success.Opti Solar didn,t know what frost can do to the ground in shifting panel mounts ect.Opti solars panels were installed in a mutiple rack at once and this didn,t work so good. First solar,s panels were mounted one at a time by hand.

Bottom line is that solar farms output is insignificant in kilowatt output and is very expensive power in the mix with nuclear and thermal generating power plants. We have to remember that simple everyday people can not afford the escalating costs of this expensive power.Special interest groups lobby governments for green energy and politicians have short term jobs like hockey coaches and line their pockets while the gettins good. (to back their political campaigns and the end result of soaking the average joe on his electricity bill.These same politicians should be tarred and feathered and put on public display for ass kicking in my opinion. the shame of it.

so if they are less efficient why should the reason that they cost less to manufacture be important? its better to pay a little more for something that will save you in the long run than to pay less for something that will only turn out to be more expensive in the long term

Producing solar power in North America makes about as much sense as building a snow factory for the Eskimos this solar farm will be using up to 1 million, And North America will gain gain more profit to using this solar system.

That is great news.There is a need to utilize the solar power to a great extent so that there is less use of the other electric sources which are scarce and also polluted the environment in various ways.

Thank you for posting such article. Its great to see such eye opening post.There are still many things to learn and more surprises to come. Meanwhile, while we are waiting why don't we try Tenant Screening. It teaches us how to achieve the best protection for the best times

Even for the average person a solar farm is a great investment. In Australia some states pay a grid feed tariff, which pays around 2 and a half times the purchase rate up to a 30kw installation.What an investment.

Two solar plants capable of (generating 800) megawatts of power, California Valley Solar Ranch (SunPower) and Topaz Solar Farms (OptiSolar) have already signed agreements with PG&E, the northern California electric utility, to supply power to the state grid; another smaller plant, by Ausra, would provide 177 megawatts. As of early 2009, construction is prepared to begin on some of these facilities; the 800-megawatt plants would be the largest in the